Green Tea Shows Promise for Psoriasis Sufferers

Almost 13,000 chemicals are used in cosmetics, and only about 10 percent have been evaluated for safety.Although the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority to regulate harmful ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products, they don’t often exercise it. Further, cosmetics can come on the market without any type of approval necessary.

Only after a product is deemed to be harmful, adulterated, or misbranded can the FDA take regulatory action. According to the FDA: ÒFDAÕs legal authority over cosmetics is different from our authority over other products we regulate, such as drugs, biologics, and medical devices. Under the law, cosmetic products and ingredients do not need FDA premarket approval, with the exception of colour additives. However, FDA can pursue enforcement action against products on the market that are not in compliance with the law, or against firms or individuals who violate the law.Ó Adding insult to injury, the FDA tasks the companies that manufacture and market cosmetics with ensuring their safety. Not only does this pose an obvious conflict of interest, but Òneither the law nor FDA regulations require specific tests to demonstrate the safety of individual products or ingredients.Ó And, Òthe law also does not require cosmetic companies to share their safety information with FDA. ÒSo, while cosmetics companies are responsible for substantiating the safety of their own cosmetics, there are no required tests to do so and they donÕt have to share safety data about their products. The FDA isnÕt even authorised to order recalls of hazardous chemicals from the market.

What does this mean for a health-conscious person like yourself? When you use body lotion, deodorant, shampoo, or nail polish, your taking a chance that your applying harmful chemicals to your body, even if the products claims to be non-toxic and safe.

How Many Chemicals Does Your Beauty Routine Expose You To?

Research has shown that green tea may offer hope as an effective treatment for skin disorders such as psoriasis and dandruff.

The study looked at an animal model for model for inflammatory skin diseases, which are often characterized by patches of dry, red, flaky skin caused by the inflammation and overproduction of skin cells. Those treated with green tea showed slower growth of skin cells and the presence of a gene that regulates the cells’ life cycles.

Lead investigator and oral biologist Dr. Stephen Hsu says,

“Psoriasis, an autoimmune disease, causes the skin to become thicker because the growth of skin cells is out of control,

In psoriasis, immune cells, which usually protect against infection, instead trigger the release of cytokines, which causes inflammation and the overproduction of skin cells.”

Other autoimmune diseases with similar side effects include lupus, which can lead to skin lesions, and dandruff.

Green tea, already shown to suppress inflammation, helps by regulating the expression of Caspase-14, a protein in genes that regulates the life cycle of a skin cell. Dr Hsu says,

“That marker guides cells by telling them when to differentiate, die off and forms a skin barrier,

In people with psoriasis, that process is interrupted and the skin cells don’t die before more are created and the resulting lesions form.”

Animal models treated with green tea also showed reduced levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen; a gene expressed when skin cells multiply. In psoriasis, the gene is over-expressed and speeds production of skin cells.

The author explains,

“Before treatment, the antigen, PCNA, was present in all layers of the skin,

Typically, PCNA is only found in the basal layer, the innermost layer where skin cells continually divide and new cells push the older ones to the skin surface, where they eventually slough off. After being treated with green tea, the animal models showed near-normal levels of PCNA in only the basal layers.”

This research is important because, as the author states, some treatments for psoriasis and dandruff can have dangerous side effects.

 

“The traditional treatment of ultraviolet light and medication, while it can control the lesions and be used long term, may cause squamous cell carcinoma – the second most common form of skin cancer,”

“Some of the most effective anti-dandruff shampoos also have carcinogens in them. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows that in small amounts, the bottom line is that we don’t know the long-term effects of using those products continuously.”

Green tea, which is plant-derived, may be an alternative. But the author states that scientists must first work to overcome some barriers with the treatment.

The chemicals in green tea are so active that they are oxidized too quickly when mixed with other ingredients. They also dissolve in water, which cannot penetrate the skin’s barrier, so researchers are looking for a balanced formula that can dissolve in fats and which can permeate the skin.

Details of the study:

Hsu S et al Green tea polyphenol induces caspase 14 in epidermal keratinocytes via MAPK pathways and reduces psoriasiform lesions in the flaky skin mouse model. Experimental Dermatology:Volume 16(8)August 2007 p 678-684

This article was adapted from Science Daily.